The invention relates to a device that is suitable for reading, identifying, checking, verifying, examining, counting, sorting and/or stacking bank notes and/or bank note-like objects. Such “bank note-like objects” include bank notes, cheques, share certificates, documents with a security imprint, certificates, admission tickets or travel tickets, vouchers, credit cards, bank cards, identification cards, and access cards. The invention also relates to a contact pressure unit, a transport unit, a position sensor and a feeder-device for processing bank note-like objects.
Devices for processing bank note-like objects are shown. Such devices carry out processing functions such as feeding, separation, transporting, deflecting, rotating, reading, sorting or stacking on the bank note-like objects. For this purpose, the processing devices are equipped with complex mechanical, electronic and/or optical components. These components, during installation, have to be brought into the correct position relative to one another, in order to carry out a desired processing sequence faultlessly and without interruption. The device is usually conceived designed for a certain processing sequence; if other processing functions are to be carried out, a new, different device has to be conceived and designed or else at least the existing device modified at great expense. Apart from this, most components require an electric power supply, which usually is implemented with the help of expensive, complicated wiring inside the device. Such wiring makes the manufacture and the maintenance of the device more difficult, is confusing and susceptible to defects.
The bank note-like objects to be processed frequently transfer dirt, ink and/or dust to the device. As a result, the operability of individual components or of the whole device (e.g., through jamming of the bank note-like objects) can be seriously impaired. In order to, in such a case, repair known devices for the processing of bank note-like objects, the devices have to be dismantled, the jammed objects removed, cleaned and re-assembled again, which requires a lot of time and effort.
In summary, the manufacture and maintenance of known devices for the processing of bank notes is usually associated with a relatively great effort and expense, which in turn leads to high manufacturing and operating costs.
Apart from this, known devices for the processing of bank notes are frequently equipped with unsuitably complicated and expensive contact pressure and/or transport units with position sensors susceptible to contamination with dirt and with unreliable feeder units that deform the bank note-like objects.